Last year came reports that Microsoft was testing a 7-inch tablet, while others claimed 8 inches was on the money. It's possible that Microsoft has been testing all these sizes, and has now plumped for 7.5 inches. Though nothing is confirmed as yet.

The Redmond-based company uses 10.6-inch screens on its current crop of Surface tablets (including the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2). If the Mini does feature a 7.5-inch screen, the 3-inch difference between the two would be more than the 2-inch between the iPad and iPad mini.

There's more fuel to add to the rumour fire, too. Microsoft updated its developer tools for Windows 8.1 earlier this year, and specifically included references to 7.5-inch tablets running at a 1,440x1,080-pixel resolution with a 4:3 aspect ratio. So that could well be the resolution of the Surface Mini.

The tiny tablet could also come with 3G or 4G connectivity. That would be a first for a Microsoft slate.

Microsoft unveiled its new Surface tablets this week. They'll go on sale here in Blighty on 22 October. They're still pretty pricey though, with the Pro 2 -- which runs the full-fat Windows 8 -- costing at least £719.